Bases Loaded
by Anna's Awkward You're Gorgeous
Summary: Modern AU: 16 year old Anna's family life revolves around her sister's softball career in the making, and she often feels left out or ignored. But the start of her sophomore year brings change as she writes and stars in the school's fall musical, The Snow Queen, becomes friends with the star baseball player, and begins to let go of the shell people put her in for so long.
1. More Than Just The Spare

"Come on, this is the fourth time you've missed the ball. Are you even trying anymore?"

Anna looked up from her notebook only to be blinded by the sun that was beginning to set over the horizon. She didn't know why she bothered to follow her father and sister out to the baseball field, especially this late in the day. The sun was too bright for her to see anything and the heat made sweat trickle down her back like rain water, even in the dugout. It was better than the alternative - cleaning the house while her mother was at work.

Her father stood over the pitcher's mound (at least, that's what she thought it was called) while her sister kicked dirt around her feet, waiting for him to pitch to her again.

"I am," she heard Elsa say, "But we've been out here for hours and I'm tired."

Her father, unlike her older sister, was loud and definite in his words. He could probably be heard from miles away.

"I am too," he said, "But quitters never win. And quitters don't make varsity."

It was a different version of the same "conversation" the two had been having for hours, years even. Her family, and basically, every other family within her parent's inner circle staked their lives on their children being baseball/softball sensations. The whole town seemed to be fixated on the sport much like other towns raved about football. And Elsa was definitely one of the better players of any age group, and that was something that her parents milked for all it was worth, forcing their oldest daughter to train and play day in and day out in the hopes that one day she would land a major college scholarship. Anna knew that this could have been her life, and it was for the earliest years of her life. She had very vivid memories of her tiny self wearing baseball caps, going to games, learning to toss a ball and hit a bat with her sister.

But one day, all of that stopped. No explanation, no matter how many times she asked. Anna was no longer allowed to play, and was especially not allowed to be anywhere near her sister when she was practicing. Looking back, she figured it was for the best. Had she never stopped playing sports, she would be out there, slaving away over a stupid ball and forfeiting her teenage years to a game she didn't even enjoy that much.

Sure, she'd probably be closer with her family, and her sister, and she may be more popular in school, but she doubted she'd be happy.

She sat there, watching her father and sister, the ball going back and forth between the two, Elsa missing it every time.

"We aren't going home until you hit this ball, Elsa."

Anna looked at her phone. It was already after six. She sighed and slipped her phone back into her pocket, trying not to let disappointment show in her face. School started tomorrow, and the theatre department was hosting their annual open house. This one was a big deal, bigger than her freshman year, even. She was vice president of drama club and it was required for her to be there. She knew she'd mentioned it to her parents, but also knew that her activities would take a backseat to Elsa's. Opening night always took a backseat to game night; it always did and it always would.

She heard a whoosh, then a crack. She looked up to see the ball soar over their father's head and away, into the other side of the park.

"That's my girl!" he said, running to home plate to give her a high five, which Elsa returned with a weak smile.

"Let's go," he said in Anna's direction as Elsa began to gather her things, "We have to be at the diner in an hour and your mother will kill me if we're late again."

Anna capped the pen that had been sitting between her teeth and grabbed the composition book she hadn't touched in over an hour. On her way to the car, she kicked the pebbles that tapped the edges of her sneakers.

'It's a stupid game anyways,' she thought to herself, 'A stupid, stupid game.'

xXx

The stupid game followed her everywhere, even into her family activities. It was Sunday, which meant dinners out with the Coronas and the Westerguards, close friends of the family and parents to other aspiring baseball sensations. The Westerguards had 13 kids total, but their youngest son, Hans, was the star player of the school's team, and was looking at full rides to almost everyone school in Minnesota, and plenty in Texas, New York, and Arizona. The Coronas only had one daughter; Rapunzel. She was nowhere near as talented as Elsa, but she was a very close second. She was also their cousin, which meant that the competition between the two older girls had been ongoing since they were in diapers.

Anna was the only odd one out when the three families met up, as she was the only one with no ties to the sport whatsoever. She just kept to herself, out of character as that was. It was better to silently play with her food and watch the clock tick by then try to talk to anyone and be ignored or laughed at.

And she was content with doing that, but the conversation tonight was very much alive, and not just about sports stats and glove brands.

"…and apparently, he's one of the top players in the state. Lead his team to nationals last year, so I hear," Mr. Westerguard said.

"And he's coming to Arendelle High? That's just the thing we need in order to get past states," Hans said, his smile genuine for once, instead of menacing.

The topic of discussion was the new senior who was transferring to their school; yet another baseball superstar. It was a small town with a small population, someone moving into it was always a big deal. But when that family brought in someone who was a talented athlete? It would be the talk of the town for weeks. Even Anna's interest was peaked.

"You need all the help you can get," Rapunzel said, punching Hans lightly on the shoulder, "All of the really good players graduated and you're all we have left."

He smiled, slinging an arm over Elsa's shoulder, "I don't intend on losing this year, as long as you guys don't."

"Of course we don't," Elsa mumbled, picking at the salad on her plate, looking uncomfortable in her boyfriend's hold, "We all have been working all summer. I have no intentions of losing."

"And with all-star boy on our side," Hans said, "We'll have each game in the bag."

"What's his name?" Anna asked, surprising even herself. The three others looked at her, barely registering her presence before snickering to themselves.

"Why?" Rapunzel said, shoving a breadstick in her mouth, "It's not like you two will even see each other."

"I…I just," Anna said, setting down her fork, "You know, we don't get new people around here often. And, it doesn't hurt to get to know people. He might be really nice or might need someone to help him find his way around-."

"Anna," Hans said, not even looking at her, "I'm sure if he needs help getting to the theatre room, he'll let you know."

"But-."

"Anna, stop it," Elsa said, looking away from her, "This conversation doesn't involve you anyways."

"You're talking around me though," she said, "Besides, who says I can't be friends with you guys' friends?"

"Who'd want to be friends with you?" Rapunzel said, low enough so that their parents didn't hear.

"I just…" Anna started, but the three had turned their focus away from her.

"Okay…" she trailed off, "Never mind."

She sat silently for the rest of dinner, and the car ride home. She should have been used to it by now; the shunning, the insults, being ignored. She didn't understand; yes they existed in two separate worlds, but she tried, so hard, to be friendly to everyone, but it didn't do her any good.

She knew what they all thought; that she was a screw up. Even if no one ever said it, she knew that's what they were thinking. They said it in non-verbal ways: the way she was left out of activities, even when she was invited; the way they looked through her, not at her; they way her words would trail at the end of every conversation, lingering behind with no one's ear drums to grab onto them. Even her own parents tended to be this way, whether they meant it or not.

She knew she wasn't like them, and she never would be. But she didn't understand why that had to matter. Was a stupid game really enough to keep her behind for the rest of her life?

When they arrived home, Anna ran straight to her room, locking the door behind her. It was one of few places in her life where baseball didn't and couldn't touch her. Once she heard her parents settle down, realizing that they wouldn't be bothering her for anything else right away, she grabbed her laptop and settled in on her windowsill, using the moon's light to keep her focused.

She scrolled through the text document on her desktop, ignoring the BEEP of her email, likely messages admonishing her for missing the open house. She paid them no mind as she read and re-read the document in front of her.

"That's as perfect as it's going to get, I guess," she said, saving it to her hard drive and attaching it to an message for the drama teacher.

"Okay…here goes…" she said, clicking SEND, watching as the message box closed and her screenplay vanished into cyberspace.

She sighed and closed her laptop, looking to the sky, her legs bouncing up and down in nervousness.

Tomorrow would be the start of school, and another year of baseball players running the school and barely passing most of her classes.

But she held onto the smallest ray of hope that this year would be better. Different than the last. And she didn't know how it would happen, but prayed and prayed that this screenplay would be the start of the change that she wanted so badly.


	2. Of Nowhere In Particular

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The shrill sound of her sister's alarm was enough to wake her from slumber, even from two rooms away. Elsa had softball practice in the morning, even on the first day of school. The older girl also hated to be late, even at the expense of her sister's extra five minutes in the morning.

"Anna," Elsa said, "If you want a ride to school, I'll be leaving in twenty minutes."

The redhead rolled over, wiping the blurred bits of sleep from her eyes.

"Okaay," she muttered, stretching her arms over her head. She yawned, leaning her head against her palm, trying to keep from lying back down. She wanted to, seeing as she hated mornings and getting up early. But if she didn't catch a ride with her sister, she'd have to take the bus. The loud, smelly, overcrowded and almost always late bus. Seeing as she missed the open house the night before, she didn't want to press her luck with Professor Gothel by being late for theatre, which she knew was first period.

Scrambling over her messy sheets, and her early-morning lack of coordination, Anna tried to get out of bed, only to stumble over her feet and land face first on her carpet.

"Ugh," she groaned, trying to peel herself off the floor, "Seriously?"

As she stretched her arms over her head, she walked over to the mirror, cringing at how matted her hair was, sticking out in every which direction.

"God," she said, trying her best to smooth it with her hands, "I really need to start sleeping with this mane up."

Just as she took the brush to one particularly rough looking tangle, another knock came to her door.

"Your sister's leaving soon," she heard her mother say.

"Okay, I'm coming," Anna said, "I think," more lowly.

After a few minutes of tumbling with her hair, she resigned it to her usual two pigtail braids, threw on a pair of black shorts with sunflowers on them, a white sweater, and her usual black converse before grabbing her messenger back and running to meet her sister in the kitchen. Upon seeing how put together Elsa looked, even in her practice clothes, she lamented her own appearance. Although she knew it wouldn't matter what she did or wore - she would always and forever look like a little girl with too many freckles and lanky arms and legs.

"Let's go," Elsa said, grabbing a banana and her car keys off the counter, "Mom and dad already left and I'm going to be late."

Anna said nothing as she trailed behind the older girl, quickly sneaking a chocolate milk bottle out of the fridge, saving it for later in the day.

The two got into the car, and not soon after, were pulling out of the driveway and going down the street, as fast as the speed limit would allow them. Elsa's hands remained steady on the wheel, eyes straight forward, while Anna picked at a loose thread on her bag, trying to think of something to say to her sister. Every morning the year before, she'd tried - and failed - to get a conversation going between the two of them. But Elsa was painfully shy and always distant; in her own head, focused on the things she had to do, none of which involved her dorky little sister. But Anna, always, maybe foolishly, held onto the hope that this year really would be different.

"So," Anna said, trying to force the cheerfulness into her voice, despite how early it was, "Are you excited about the new school year?"

Elsa shrugged, not really acknowledging that Anna asked her a question. Still, that didn't deter the younger girl from trying to converse with her.

"I'm kind of excited to get my schedule. I know that I have drama first period, but I don't know about anything else."

When Elsa said nothing to her, Anna bit her lip, tucking her bangs behind her ear.

"Professor Gothel is letting one of us, the leaders of the club and stuff, one of is picking the play this year. And I think that I-."

"Anna," Elsa said, cutting her off, "Please, I'm trying to focus on the road."

"There isn't anyone on the road but us," Anna said, "And a few squirrels, but I doubt you'll hit them. You're pretty good about watching where you-."

"You're making me nervous," the older girl said in the most polite voice she could muster. But Anna knew that wasn't it. She sighed, leaning back against her seat, looking out the window.

"I'm sorry," she said, stopping herself from trying to say anything else. She sat there in silence until the two pulled into the school. The parking lot was empty save for the few cars belonging to the other girls on the softball team.

Anna looked at the clock. It was only 7:00, and school didn't start for another hour and fifteen minutes. As she heard Elsa's door slam, she grabbed her bag, almost tripping on her way out the door.

"Elsa?"

The older girl looked at her as she reached into the trunk for her sports bag.

"Uh, sorry to bug you again, but it's just that school doesn't start for a while, and I don't even know what else is open. Is it alright if I follow you or-."

"No," she said, closing the trunk, "Practice is closed. We went over this last year."

"Well, what should I do?"

Elsa shrugged, starting to walk away while crossing her arms.

"Can't you go in the theatre room or something?"

"It's not open until…" she stopped mid-sentence, realizing that Elsa had already walked out of earshot, "The first bell rings…"

She sighed, putting her bag across her chest and starting for the school, where at least it was air conditioned. She figured that she could at least find the bulletin board to see where her home room was, and maybe sit in the library, assuming it was open.

A cool breeze of air hit her as she walked in the school's double doors, some students scattered around the hall, but mostly freshman who likely got there early so they didn't get lost. She kept her head down, still upset over how her sister acted towards her in the car. Sure, they weren't friends, but she figured that since she took the initiative to be cordial, her sister could've met her halfway. But Elsa was quiet, always had been, even around her friends. She realized it was foolish of her to expect any different, especially now that Elsa was a senior and would be leaving home in a year or so.

Anna was so busy feeling sorry for herself that she wasn't watching where she was going, and she ran headfirst, literally, into someone or thing big, causing her to fall backwards onto the floor.

"Oh my gosh," she said, scrambling to gather her things that went flying, "I am so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going, and I'm such a klutz and I just…"

"It's okay," said the voice of the person she ran into, "I should expect to be ran into standing out of the way of incoming traffic."

Anna looked up to see the person - a boy - extending his hand, looking apologetic, despite his sarcastic tone. She clutched her bag closer to her chest as she took him in - his blonde hair that stuck out from under his baseball cap, his chocolate brown eyes that were actually looking at her, and his very built body, arms and legs so muscular they were poking through his jeans and t-shirt.

Anna found herself speechless for the first time in her life in the presence of someone so positively handsome. And shockingly enough, he wasn't laughing at her or leaving her to fend for herself.

"You know," he said, "In this situation, you'd probably take my hand, unless you're okay staying down there all morning."

Anna shook her hand, letting her small hand slide into his as he helped her up.

"Uh, sorry, right, I would not like to stay on the floor. It's dirty."

He grinned, but she couldn't tell if he was laughing at her or with her. Still, taking the opportunity before her, she brushed her hair back and put her bag back over her shoulder.

"I'm Anna," she said, wiping her sweaty palms on her shirt, "Anderson. I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new? I'm from here. I've lived in Arendelle City my entire life. I think I'd know you if I saw you before. So you must be new. Where are you from?"

When he didn't immediately answer, she wanted to slap herself.

'Stupid word vomit,' she thought, 'I never know when to shut up.'

If he thought anything of her rambling, he said nothing, stuffing one hand into his pocket.

"Yeah, I just moved here about a week or so ago," he said, adjusting his backpack, "I'm Kristoff Bjorgman, of…nowhere in particular, really."

"Oh," Anna said, losing any bit of sense she had in her, "That's cool. Well, I think you'll like it here. It's a small town, but it's still pretty exciting."

He nodded, clearly already irritated by her incessant rambling.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" he said, looking over her head and down the hall.

"What is it?"

"I don't know where my homeroom is, you think you could help me?"

"Of course," Anna said, "They usually post them outside of the cafeteria. There's not that many people here, so they group everyone in alphabetical order. And all the grades are together too, since there's only, like, sixty people for grade level."

She paused, trying to stop herself from saying anything else stupid, "You said your last name was Bjorgman? We're probably in the same room. I can help you find it if you want."

He didn't immediately answer, but she couldn't stop herself from talking.

"That's not to say you couldn't find it on your own if you wanted to. I'm sure you could. I mean, you're clearly not stupid or anything it's just…" she sighed, letting her sentence end there. He laughed, either with her or at her, and looked down the hall again.

"Thanks, but I think I can figure it out for myself."

"Okay," Anna said, "But homeroom doesn't start until 8:15, so you might be a little early."

"Yeah," he said, "Baseball orientation was this morning. Finished early."

Anna felt her stomach deflate. So that was was why he was barely acknowledging her and so anxious to get away so quickly.

"Well, see you around, maybe," he said, walking away without waiting for her response.

"Right! See you around," she said, even though she knew he wasn't listening.

Already defeated, but still hoping for better, she followed his footsteps down the hall, in the direction of the cafeteria.

'I still do need to find where my homeroom is,' she thought, 'Right. That's totally the reason I'm following him.'

She smirked, 'Well, that's a good enough excuse, anyways.'


	3. In Her Favor

Anna wasn't at all surprised to see Kristoff again in homeroom. After all, anyone with last name A-C was thrown into the same room to be handed their schedules by a teacher who was irritated they had to come in so early on the first day of school. She was even less surprised to see him sitting with Elsa. After all, they were both athletes, and as a rule, athletes hung together, especially the talented ones. It probably didn't hurt that he was super cute as well; if both Rapunzel and Elsa weren't already seeing other people, one of the two would probably land in his well-toned lap in a matter of days.

Anna sighed, slinking into an open seat near the back of the room, planning to get her schedule, keep to herself, and run off to the drama room as soon as the bell rang. It's not that she wanted to keep to herself, but the room was mostly athletes, or braniacs, or other people that she didn't associate herself with.

The school was so divided, it was borderline cliche; like something she'd write into one of her screenplays, or something that would be on a bad after school special. But the result was Anna being alone, usually, as she only fit in with the other drama kids, who were scattered around the school at various point in the day.

But staying to herself had been her plan, until something in her - some stubborn streak that she could never seem to abandon - pushed her out of her chair and into Elsa's empty one after the girl received her schedule.

"Hi Kristoff," she said, half expecting him to ignore her, "I see you found your way here."

"Yeah," he said, actually looking at her, "The school isn't that big. Although, admittedly, I did get lost along the way a few times."

"Oh," Anna said, "That's okay. I get lost around here all the time. Even though I've been here for a year already. And I'm not really the type to ask for directions."

"Yes," Kristoff said, chuckling, "I can tell that you're the quiet type."

"I actually am," Anna said, not picking up on his sarcasm, "I just tend to ramble when I'm nervous, which is pretty much all the time."

"I've noticed," he said, taking his schedule as the teacher handed it to him.

"So," he said, turning to Anna as she got her schedule, "What classes do you have?"

Anna chuckled nervously, "I doubt we have any of the same. Unless you're a sophomore too."

"Nope," he said, "Senior."

"Oh," Anna said, "That's nice. My sister's a senior too." She folded the piece of paper up and stuck it in her pocket, "Actually, you were just talking to her."

"Oh?" He asked, his interest in the conversation deflating, "That's nice."

"I don't play though," she said, "Softball, that is."

He chuckled, "That's refreshing. I was starting to think the entire female population was on the team."

"No, not me," Anna said, "I mean, I used to play when I was little, but now I'm pretty sure I'd just hit myself in the head with the bat or trip over the bases."

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the seven minute period they had to get to their first class.

"Well, I gotta go," Anna said, stuffing her schedule into her bag, "First class is, like, halfway across the school. Don't wanna be late. Well, see you soon."

"I don't doubt it," he said, not really to her, but in her direction.

As she hustled down the hall, tediously avoiding jocks and jockettes who didn't know how to share the space, she kicked herself for further embarrassing herself in front of the one cute boy at this school that, for whatever reason, was still acknowledging her existence. Everything that came out of her mouth was just a pointless ramble, much like it did with any other conversation, and she hated herself for it.

But at the same time, he had yet to push her away. Which was something. Small as it was, she'd take it.

xXx

"Welcome back, my students, to the wonderful world known as musical theatre!"

Anna had no idea what Professor Gothel put in her coffee to be so jubilant so early in the morning, but she knew she could use a cup or two. She needed the energy this early, when she already felt so drained.

"This year's class shall be full of plenty of new experiences for each and every one of you, and I am thrilled to be here to witness this process as you evolve from young adults to young artists"

Anna thought the trope of dramatic, borderline psychotic drama teachers was reserved for made for TV movies and poorly written young adult novels. That was, until, she met Professor Gothel, only to learn that tropes could sometimes be true, and not just on the baseball field either.

With a flip of her mass of curly black hair, Professor Gothel took her place on the stage, holding the syllable in front of her, reading the guidelines for the class aloud.

"She's acting as if it's changed any from last year," her best friend, Merida, whispered into her ear, "It's the same list of plays nobody's ever heard of and incomplete assignment due dates."

Anna chuckled to herself, trying to focus on what the teacher was saying while accommodate her friend's short attention span. The girl beside her played with one of her wild curls, actively ignoring everything that was being said. Though it wasn't noticeable, the girl loved the class almost as much as Anna did, despite her lack of work ethic and constant battles with the professor over everything. (Anna could recall one too many an argument in the middle of rehearsal, "Merida, this is Shakespeare and Desdemona is not from Scotland.") But the girl's stubbornness kept her from productivity of any sort.

"It's true and you know it," Merida said, "We should just get on with the class already."

"Merida," Anna whispered, "I'm trying to-."

"Ladies," Professor Gothel called from the stage, "Do you have something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"

"No," the two said in unison.

"Good," she said, flipping close the last page of the syllabus, "Now, for the news I know you all really care about. The fall musicale," she said, drawing out the "ale" at the end of her word.

"The audition process will begin next week," Professor Gothel began, "You will present a monologue of no more than sixty seconds and perform 16 bars of a song of your choosing. No more, no less, or you will be escorted out. More details on the musical itself will be revealed later in the week."

Descending from the stage, the teacher addressed the class again, "Pair up, begin your warm ups, you all know the drill."

Just as Anna stood up to find a space, she heard the professor address her.

"Anna, can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Okay," the girl said, waving to Merida as she found a corner of the theatre and began warming up on her own.

"Yes Professor Gothel?"

The woman leaned against the stage, crossing her arms and staring at the girl momentarily before speaking.

"We had a lot of wonderful suggestions for this season's musical," she began, not taking her eyes off of Anna for a second, "We even had a few seniors submit their screenplay requests, and with the budget increase we got this year, all of these things are extremely doable. Certainly you understand this."

Anna felt any sense of hope she had seep out through her ragged breath, knowing where this conversation was going.

"Absolutely, I completely understand."

But Professor Gothel wasn't done speaking.

"You were the only one who submitted a screenplay to me in full with the music scores completed, and, if I may say, very well done."

"Well…thank you," Anna said, "I, uh, I spent all summer on it. And part of last year too."

"It shows," Gothel said, "And I, along with the rest of the performing arts department board, were very impressed."

The woman stood up, gesturing wildly in time with her words, "It was tantalizing, brilliant, heartfelt, and above all else…beautiful."

The woman stood up, handing Anna a pronged blue folder.

"I expect you to work closely with the heads of the dance and chorus department for this. It has the potential to be one of the best student made plays this school has ever put on. It'll be a lot of work, but I know you can do it."

Anna felt her palms start to slick over, not believing what the woman was saying.

"Professor Gothel, are you telling me what I think you're…"

"I expect this musical to be as magical on stage as it is on paper," the woman said, "Do not disappoint me."

"I…I won't," Anna said, almost unable to contain her excitement, "I promise, I promise it will be amazing and magical and…all of those other things you said."

"Good," the woman said, walking away with a smile, clapping to call her class back to attention.

Still suspended in disbelief, Anna flipped through the binder in her hand, complete with lists of contacts, props, and, of course, a printed, crisp copy of her play, The Snow Queen.

She smiled to herself, not even fighting the jump dance that she did when it hit her.

Things actually were changing. And for once, they were changing in her favor.


End file.
